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EBENEZEI?. PIERCE, OF IIALLOWELL, MAINE.

Letters Patent No. 90,868, dated .Time l, 186i).

, AIMCPROVIIMEN'J.' IN BOMB-LANCES.

The Schedula referred tn ii these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

To all whom it may concern: l Be it known that I, Exnznn firniiba, shipannster andwhaleman, of the city of Hallo'well, county of' Kennebec, in the State 0i' Maine, hare invented a certain, new and useful Bomb-Lance for killing whulesfand other similar purposes; and I do hereby declare the following specification, taken in connection with the drawings furnished, and forming a part of' ,the same, to be a true, clear, and exact description thereof'.

My invention relates to the novel construction and arrangement of the internal operative mechanism, by means of which the bomb-lancehaving been shot from a suitable gun, is ignited by the concussion of the discharge, but exploded only after any required number ot' seconds, to insure its destructive trating the body of a whale.

My invention also relates to a tail-piece of novel construction, attached to the bomb, more perfectly securing its accurate ight.

Reference' being had to the drawings, Figure 1-represents one of my bomb-lances complete.

A is the lance-hcad or tip. B is that portion of the bomb containing the charge of gunpowder, and is properly `termed theLmagazine.

, C is the tail-piece or guiding-apparatus. 1t is constructed of four pieces of hard wood, so fitted that when placed together, they form a cylindrical shaft. After being securely inserted into the breech of the bomb, a socket therein being provided for the purpose,

effect after penesmall wedges are driven between the joints, which cause the outer ends to spread apart, and cause them to serve a' similar purpose to that effected by a feather or feathers attached to the shank of an arrow. To insert the bomb into a gun, it is only necessary to compress the expanded ends, so that they will readily enter the muz zle. In using the bombs, a. heavy sblc-leather wad, or its equivalent, should precede the bomb in charging the gun.

1)' and l)z represent those portions of the bomb containing the operative mechanism for igniting the fuse,

and are termed by me the fire-chambers. Both of these chambers are provided with a small hole, through which eeft wooden pegs are inserted, which serve to prevent the hammers hereafter described, from action during ordinary handling or usage.

E is a breech-block, having a screw-socket for receiving the` fire-chamber D2, in its front end, and a plain socket for the reception of the tail-piece O at its rear end.

Figure 2 represents the bomb-,lance complete, etchibited iu longitudinal section.

External parts are lettered as in iig. 1. In explai g the operative mechanism, I will first proceed with that contained within the fire-cham ber D'.

Similar parts in the two chambers are lettered alike, but are numbered in accordance with their relative position.

.bombdance is obvious.

11" represents a screw-collar, by means oi which the magazine B and lire-chamber D' are connected At its rear end is inserted, and secured by soldering, u fuse-tube, hereafter described. recessed, and contains a gun-nipple, marked I', inserted in the usual manner.

- G' isa stationary fuse-tube communicating from thc gun-nipple I', to thc interior of thc magazine B. li is shown as filled with corded fuse. A filling ot' ordi nary fuse-paste," or composition, packed directly int( the tube, would no doubt serve an excellent purpose.

H' represents the percussion-cap. v K' represents a hammer. It is a round piece of solid metal, square-faced at one end, with a slight proy .jectou on the other, facing the nipple, and is fitted to slide smoothly, yet freely within the fire-chamber D'. The holes before mentioned in the iii'e'chamber, are here shown, exhibiting in red ink the position nl' the peg, inserted to control the hammer and prevent its movement, as already described, during ordinary usage.. These pegs may be removed before inserting the bomb into theA gun, or allowed to remain, as` the concussion ofthe discharge is suflicient to operate the hammer, regardless of' their presence. ln practice I prefer to allow them to remain, being careful not to have them ot' too great strength.

I will'now proceed to explain the operative mechanism at the other end of the bomb, in lire-chamber D. As will be observed, the parts are lettered as in chamber D', with a numerical distinction only. In this connection, Fz is thesolid end of the fire-chainber D. Passing through and soldered to the centre of this bulkhead, is the stationary fuse-tube G". In

.the drawing it is secured by means of a screw-thread,

but in practice I prefer to solder it. v

The construction of hammer K2 differs from K' as follows:

- Instead of being a simple solidpicce of metal, as already described, the hammer K2 is constructedof a 'short piece of metal pipe, somewhat larger in diameter than the fnse-tube Gi, and should slide freely over that end projecting into the fire-chamber. This pipe is soldered into a metal collar; which forms the hammenp per. Into'its reverse end is inserteda gunnipple, in the usual manner, the bore of' which communicates with the interior of the tube already described. This gun-nipple is marked I2, and the percussion-cap, H. y l

To a person skilled -in the art, he Iiperation of my The magazine being charged with powder, the fuse-tubes loaded, percussion-caps adjusted` to the nipples, and the lance discharged from a suitable gun, they resulting concussion of the hammers operating upon. the percussionfcap, ignites the fuses, and explosion follows.

The hammers K' and K, although differently conv struct/ed, perform preciselythe same functions.

lts front end is deeply 4In putting the ports of the bomb-lance together, it

would be well to use tsllow or other suitablev substance nponall' of the' screw-connections, to secure gas-tight jointstis obvious that n. bomb-lance couldbe constructed,

` well fs'il to explode, itis deemed of importance by me to employ the duplicstedmechanism. The cost of the blnnoe lthus constructed, would not be much greater, while the proportion of wasted, inoperative lbombs would be greatly lessened. constructed and used to a greater or less extent. They have generally, however, belonged to that class of projectiles exploded by means ot' e fuse fired from thel flume during the discharge of the gun. For common use these bombs nre, toa certain degree, objectionable, as they are too liable to injury by exposure to therelements. f

I am' also nwzirethst bombflzrnces, exploded hy means of percussion-caps, huve to n limited extent Vbeen constructed. In'such, however, sfuso-,tube sliding within o chamber, to whiehit is nicely fitted and adjusted, is provided with u nipple stone of its ends.

Explosion of n percussion-cap placed thereon, is effected by the concussion resulting from the'dischurge of the f gun, ns it is appnrentthst t-hc interior of the bomb next behind the end of the fuse-tube, would be projected :tg-einst the nipple.

Bomb-lances constructed with this sliding tube, are open to a. variety of serious objections. -They are expensive, irom the extremehicety with which the sliding tube should be fitted. to its chamber, by the way of which it enters the magazine. Should the tube be fitted too closely, its l'ree :ictiou would be prevented, mul heure rendered inoperutive. The parts in close contact ure also lizthlel to corrosion, or to be clogged with particles oi' dirt.- Again, in practice, it is oiten deemed desirable to veri-y the time for burning the l'use. When the slidinl,r tube is employed, this is im- I am aware that a varietyof bomb-lances have been' vpramticsble.on account of certain spring-connections deemed necessary for their ope-ration, and on account of the chamber before referred to.

' In my bomb-lance, as herein described, the time of explosion tuzty be -,reodily Ajfsried by shortening the fuse-tube and fuse,l to snit the requirementsof the occasion. l

It is obvious also to persons skilled in the art, that in my bomb-lance no possibility exists of premature explosion. The iire-ehanibei.. are independent' of the magazine, communicating therewith only by way ot? the fuse. The operstire ports of my bomlrlance, the A hammers K* Irnd K, are loosely fitted, rendering them inexpensive in their construction, and unerring iu their operation. f'

. I sm also aware thet s variety of devices have been constructed with a. view to secure the accurate flight of' :t bomb-bruce. Ism not aware, however, tha'tthe quartered cylindrlenlshait, herein described, hat ever before been used. y

Having thus described mylnvention', I claim :is new, and desire to'secure by Letters Patent ot' the United Statesl l;

l. The imlependenttire-chamber D, lm vin'g no means of communication with the magazine, except through the nipple and stationary fuse-tube, substantially herein shown 'sud described for the purposes specified. 2. The tail-piece O, consisting oi' -the divided cylindrical shsi, connected with 'the bomb, and expanded,

subs tstntiellyin the manner and for the purposes hereinspeciiied. l ,Y

3. The bomb-lance herein described, consisting of itlsncefhead and magazine, with or without the tailplece,` provided with independent tire-ohnmbe and independent hammers, the whole construe 'srranged, and operating substantially ss herein' described fo'r thepurposes specified.

- EBENEZEE PIERCE.-

Witnesses:

J No. S. Sturen, FRANK A. J senses. 

